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Monday, February 11, 2013

Romance Book Review: Emma's Journey by Callie Hutton


Emma's Journey


By Callie Hutton
Review by Morgan Wyatt

About the Book:


Releasing February 15th, 2013

Now that Emma Thorpe’s husband has been killed on the wagon train to Oregon, she wants to return to Indiana, but the wagon master has forced her to marry Wagon Scout, Davis Cooper. He wants to make their marriage work; she intends to flee as soon as they arrive at their destination.

Emma Thorpe did not want to leave her life in Indiana to travel to Oregon on a wagon train, but her husband Peter had other ideas. Barely three weeks into the trip Peter is killed, and Emma is shocked that the wagon master won’t let her return home.

Wagon Scout Davis Cooper has decided this would be his last scouting trip, he intends to obtain land in the new Oregon territory, find a wife, and start a family.

When the Wagon Master orders Emma to marry Davis she rebels, but eventually comes to realize she can’t go it alone, no matter how stubborn she is. But nothing will make her give up her dream to return home.

Can Davis change her mind, and have the life he’s always wanted with his unexpected wife?


Morgan's Review:


Emma’s Journey by Callie Hutton is much more than a historical romance. It is a tale of the grit and determination of the earlier settlers who chose to head west. Emma, the heroine didn’t intend to go west leaving her home and family in Indiana, but her husband Peter has other ideas.

Emma tables her reservations about joining the wagon train aware her husband is anxious to make a fresh start somewhere else. Weeks into the trip, not only it is harder than she imagined, but it becomes even harder.  Peter dies trying to control a spooked horse, leaving Emma alone.  Devastated, she buries Peter along the trail and asks for an escort back home. Her request shows her innocence that the wagon train, can stop, and honor her request.

Davis Cooper is hurt trying to save Peter from the out of control horse. The wagon train boss puts him in Emma’s wagon to care for until he can get back on his feet. The uptight woman secretly amuses him, but he does appreciate her care. He finds himself helping Emma with her wagon. He admires her pluck, and endurance, despite the fact she makes no secret of her desire to return to Indiana.

Life is difficult crossing the rugged terrain, and impossible for a woman alone as Emma quickly finds out. If she drops out of the train, she’ll surely perish. Only Davis Cooper’s continual help keeps her going, but a single woman can’t keep accepting the help, or companionship of a single male. His solution is marriage. How can she marry a stranger, especially when she just buried a previous husband? Even though she finds herself drawn to him, accepting her proposal will put her back in the same uncomfortable position she had with Peter traveling to a place she doesn’t want to settle.

Emma is a dynamic character who grows through her various hardships. Davis Cooper is an emotionally wounded individual who finds solace in Emma. The antagonist of the entire tale is the trail itself. Miss Hutton goes into detail to show the various difficulties of the wagon train members. It is a man against nature conflict that has you rooting for Emma, and the other wagon train members.

Emma’s Journey is a historical romance, but also is a journal of the hardships the early western settlers faced. This sweet romance should appeal to historical romance and romance fans alike.  

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